Abstract T P115: Sarcopenia and Physical Function in Chronic Stroke

Abstract

Sarcopenia is defined as an age-related loss in skeletal lean muscle mass and strength and is as a leading contributor to the development of frailty. Stroke survivors have muscle atrophy in paretic (P) vs. nonparetic (P) legs that could contribute to whole body sarcopenia. The purpose of this study was to determine the sarcopenic index in a large population of chronic stroke survivors and compare this group to age, gender, and BMI-matched non-stroke controls. Chronic stroke survivors aged 40 to 84 yrs (n=180, 61% female, 59% African American, BMI: 29±1 kg/m 2 , X±SEM) with mild to moderate gait deficits underwent whole body DXA scans to assess sarcopenic index (appendicular lean mass/ht 2 ). The cutoffs for sarcopenia, by the European Working Group on Sarcopenia, were used and defined as a skeletal muscle index of <7.23 kg/m 2 in men and <5.67 kg/m 2 in women. In the entire group, the prevalence of sarcopenia in stroke survivors (13%) did not differ significantly from that of populations reported previously in the literature. In 61-70 year olds, 87% (n=63) had normal muscle mass and 13% (n=9) were sarcopenic. In 71-80 year olds, 79% (n=30) had normal skeletal muscle index and 21% (n=8) were sarcopenic. Stroke survivors (n=39) were matched with 39 controls on the basis of race, gender, age ±4 years and BMI±2.5 units. After matched pair analysis, 5.1% of the controls had sarcopenia while 12.8% of the control group were sarcopenic (P<0.0001). Sarcopenic index was related to six-minute walking speed (r=0.28, P<0.01). In conclusion, stroke survivors may be at an elevated risk for sarcopenia when considering age, gender, and race to non-stroke individuals which is related to functional mobility in this population.